Top Photo: Male blue corporal. As mentioned previously on this blog (April) blue corporals are early season dragonflies. They’ve usually come and gone by the time the “big” six species of dragonflies begin to make themselves seen. That is, the six species of skimmers (Libellulidae) that you might find at just about any body of water in the state, certainly any pond or lake throughout the warm spring, summer, and fall seasons. Those six species are: Blue dasher Great blueRead more
Posts filed in: Insects
April Is Big
Top Photo: Just out of nest, this yellow bellied slider was headed for the water when it was noticed and picked up by visitors. April has arrived, a big month in the Carolina Piedmont, a transitional month. Turtles that have spent the winter in the ground where their mothers deposited them as eggs last summer are making their way to water to begin the next phase of their lives. If they make it past this first summer they stand aRead more
Middle March Sightings
Top Photo: Pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris, formerly Rana palustris). Pickerel frogs are calling from the wetlands. I saw several on the path in Catch the Wind, Explore the Wild, and on the service roads after the chilled rain during the second week of March. A few were flattened by vehicles. Some apparently survived and made it to the water. More frogs have joined the chorus this week. One of the two larger trees in the following photo has been struck byRead more
Winter Tolerant
Top Photo: Fatsia Japonica growing on Dinosaur Trail, Museum of Life and Science. Our two late fall and winter blooming plants on the Dinosaur Trail are flowering, Fatsia and Mahonia. Neither are native plants but have been planted on the trail as examples, or at least relatives, of plants that were common at the time dinosaurs may have populated the area. There are also ginkgo trees and several palms along the way. On mild winter days you may see honeyRead more
Grass, Passerines, Ducks, Hyla, Fungi, and Mammals (lemurs, red wolves, and w-t deer)
Top Photo: Grasses blow in the cool wind from the floating walkway in the wetlands in Explore the Wild. Seed production and dispersal is part of fall. The seed produced by the grasses in the wetlands will carry far and wide with the help of the wind. As of November 20, there were still a few green tree frogs hanging on in Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild. They were juveniles. Alder blooms in February. The male catkins andRead more
Marbled Arachnid
Top Photo: Marbled orb-weaver negotiates the forest leaf litter. Marbled orb-weavers (Araneus marmoreous) are striking spiders. Large bright yellow or orange abdomens with hieroglyphic-like markings set it apart from the other orb-weavers out and about in the Piedmont at this time of year. They’re one of the most easily identifiable and latest, in terms of seasonality, spiders out there. I typically come across one per fall season here at the museum. Today, I saw two. Like other orb weavers theseRead more
An Aster, a Skipper, a Lady, and a Shrew!
Top Photo: Purple aster at the Butterfly House Garden. Purple aster is a late bloomer. As such, it attracts many late season insects to its nectar like the common checked skipper pictured here. In our area, this skipper may occasionally be seen as late as December, but certainly into mid November. As I walked into Catch the Wind, I noticed a group of about eight people smiling and laughing as they stared down at the ground near the base ofRead more
October Awakenings
Top Photo: Mating common snapping turtles in the spring create hatchlings for the fall (see below). Snapping turtles have a rough and tumble mating season. The choosing and sorting out of mating partners can be rather violent. But for snapping turtles it’s a necessary part of the process which occurs each spring and summer. Rest comes next for the big males. Snapping turtles leave the water infrequently and for only a very few good reasons (a basking snapping turtle isRead more
Monarch Migrants
Top Photo: Migrant monarch butterfly lays egg on one of the last remaining leaves of common milkweed in the Butterfly House Garden. It’s September and monarch butterflies are moving through. In fact, September through early October is peak time for the long distance migrants to cut across our state. Sure, you’d see many more if you were in the mountains or along the coast due to the concentration factor. A combination of geographic features (physical barriers) and regional wind conditionsRead more